


Bowling For You

by Fire_Bear



Series: Birthday Paladins [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Birthday, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, F/M, First Meetings, Love at First Sight, M/M, Multi, Platonic Soulmates, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-03 14:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13343649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: It's Hunk's birthday and, though he's been woken early, he's having a good day. He'd have an even better one if his friends didn't remind him that he still hasn't found his own soulmate...





	Bowling For You

**Author's Note:**

> I figured out how to put coloured words in the stories! Unfortunately, it puts the coloured words in its own paragraph which is just annoying... So...
> 
> The words on Hunk's arm: in navy.  
> The words on Pidge's arm: in brown.  
> The words on Shiro's arm: in pink.  
> The words on Allura's arm: in purple.  
> The words on Lance's arm: in red.  
> The words on Keith's arm: in blue.  
> The words on Shay's arm: in yellow.
> 
> Also, I was trying to make this about Hunk's interactions with the rest of them but I apparently can't write Hunk's POV and it ended up with everyone else having more dialogue than him. (Or so it feels to me.) Urgh.
> 
> Just wait till I have to write from Shiro's POV - it's gonna be a mess. O.o

Hunk woke on his birthday to a finger prodding at his cheek. Still mostly asleep, he managed to say, "Whuh?"

"C'mon, Hunk, buddy," said his roommate and best friend. "You gotta get up. Today's the day."

"Lance?" Hunk groaned. "What time is it?"

"Uh, ten fifty," Lance replied, rather nonchalantly. "But you gotta get up – we're going bowling, remember? I've gotta beat Keith's ass at rolling a heavy ball at some skittles."

"Thankfully," came Pidge's voice, "not the other thing he does when he beats Keith's ass."

Gasping, Lance recoiled from Hunk's side, giving the larger young man a chance to roll over and blearily blink at his friends. Lance was dressed up in a dark blue shirt with white double stripes, dark blue jeans and his hair artfully ruffled. As far as Hunk could see, he'd also used some make-up to cover up the bags under his eyes: after Christmas college deadlines would do that to a person. Pidge, meanwhile, hadn't bothered to 'make herself presentable'. She sat cross-legged on Hunk's desk (having, thankfully, removed all his books and papers) with her laptop on her knees. Her usual, over-sized, light green hoodie covered her up and had been paired with some cargo pants. A messy side ponytail kept her long hair out of her face. Hunk struggled to kick his brain into gear as he took in the details.

"Pidge!" Lance was exclaiming as Hunk pushed himself upright and rubbed at his eyes. "Where did you _learn_ such language?!"

Smirking, Pidge raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're not denying it..."

Turning red, Lance rounded on Hunk. "Do you _hear_ what she's saying?!"

"Yeah, dude," Hunk said, nodding his head. "I also don't hear you denying it."

"Hunk! This is a betrayal!"

"Sorry, man. I'm just telling the truth."

"Urgh!" Lance threw his arms in the air and stomped out of the room. His voice came drifting down the hall as he retreated. "Hurry up and get dressed, you two! Keith'll be here soon to drive us down there!"

Once silence had fallen, Hunk let himself fall back into his bed with a groan. There was the click of a laptop shutting and Hunk tilted his head to squint at Pidge. She yawned, her whole head tilting back to throw the noise at the ceiling. Then she looked across at him. "So? When did you get to bed?"

"Well, if it's..." Hunk paused and looked at the fluorescent orange numbers of his alarm clock. "Ten fifty-three, then I went to bed... uh... at three-thirty am hours ago?"

Pidge nodded solemnly. "I went to bed three hours ago," she informed Hunk. When he winced in sympathy, Pidge shrugged. "I got, like, 5 cups of coffee on the way over here. Lance stole one but, since you weren't awake, I've drunk the rest."

"Seriously?" said Hunk, scrunching his nose in distaste.

"Yup. And I don't know how much sleep Lance has had but he only woke up properly like... just over an hour ago. I think it's the fastest I've seen him get ready."

"Well, he is gonna see his soulmate today," said Hunk with a fond smile. "He told Keith not to 'bother' him this past week since he knew it'd be so brutal. So he's trying to look good for him and also not worry him at the same time."

"Having a soulmate sounds rough," Pidge commented.

Smiling, Hunk nodded, feeling the familiar pang of loneliness he did when he thought of where his own soulmate could be. Ignoring the depressing thoughts – a common occurrence in everyone who hadn't found their soulmates yet – Hunk pushed himself back up. "Well, better get ready. Lance'll want to make an inspection."

"Right. See you at the judging panel." Pidge left him to it and Hunk stood up, stretching his arms overhead. When he'd brought them down, he stared at the words marked on his left arm in navy, looping handwriting. Then, shaking his head, he grabbed a towel and made his way to the bathroom, wondering when he'd be able to hear those words.

_You... You need me?_

* * *

By the time Hunk had emerged from the bathroom, wearing a yellow t-shirt, his usual headband and a pair of board shorts, Lance had managed to convince Pidge to sit on the floor in front of the couch so he could sort her hair. When Lance looked up, he shook his head. "Nuh uh," he said, pausing with a brush halfway through Pidge's hair. "You're not going out like _that_."

"Shouldn't I be allowed to wear what I want on my own birthday?" Hunk asked with fond exasperation.

"Oh, c'mon! We should all look good for our birthdays. Besides," Lance added, slyly. "Maybe today's the day you'll meet your soulmate." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Hunk rolled his eyes. "You don't know that."

"Well, I dunno. Balmera Bowling is decked out in the same colour as your soulmate mark. _And_ all the staff where shirts the same colour, too!" Lance waved the brush at Hunk. "And since _you_ don't know when you'll meet your soulmate, you should dress up. Besides! It's a party!"

"I think you should just submit to the inevitable, Hunk," Pidge piped up, glancing up from her phone. She tilted her head back to look at Lance. "And _you_ need to stop fussing. It's not the end of the world if we look like college students. We _are_ college students."

"Yeah, well, we're gonna be there with people who have _actual_ career jobs." Lance frowned at the both of them. "We can at least look _good_. Speaking of which, Pidge... Are you really gonna wear that?"

Pidge's eyes narrowed. Hunk sensed danger and tried to intervene. "Wait..."

"Yes I am!" Pidge yelled and, without warning leapt at Lance. He cried out and they began to... Hunk wasn't entirely sure what was happening except from limbs waving around. Turning her head, Pidge cried out, "Quick, Hunk! Save yourself!"

"Noooo!" wailed Lance. "It's for your own good!"

"I'll go get changed!" Hunk informed him over the noise. He hurried off to his room, their shouts following him. It only took him a few minutes to get ready but they had quietened by the time he reemerged. As he made his way towards the living room again, he spotted Lance pouting into the mirror in the bathroom.

"She messed up my hair!" Lance explained.

"It looks good, Lance. Don't stress out about this, okay?" Hunk moved into the bathroom and smiled at Lance through the mirror. "I'll have fun as long as you guys are with me, buddy. It doesn't have to be perfect." He placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

Lance gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, man," he said, patting Hunk's hand. Then his brow furrowed and he whipped around. "Wait a-! You're not wearing _that_!"

Hunk looked down at his orange and yellow Hawaiian shirt and the corduroy pants he'd changed into. "What's wrong with this?"

Sighing, Lance placed a hand on Hunk's shoulder. "Buddy, as much as I love your style, this... is a little too bright."

"Then what do you suggest."

Instantly brightening, Lance slipped by Hunk and led him back to his room. "Let's see what's in your wardrobe," he said, cheerfully. He paused at the doorway, turned back down the hallway, cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to Pidge. "This doesn't mean you're getting away with half-brushed hair, you!"

A loud groan was their only answer.

Following Lance, Hunk spent the next ten minutes with clothes being thrown at him then thrown onto his bed before ending up in his arms again. Lance forced him to dress up (Lance turning to give him some privacy) in each outfit and endure a judging before Lance settled on a mustard polo neck and a pair of jeans. He left Hunk with his headband and returned to the living room to 'deal with Pidge'. Hunk was left with the mess to tidy up. He didn't mind, relieved that his ordeal was over.

When he returned to the living room it was to find Pidge with her hair in a bun. Lance had braided it and pinned it up like that. Hunk was impressed, as usual. Every time Lance played with Pidge's hair, he made it pretty. Pidge pulled it off well, even if she was still wearing her hoodie and cargo pants. She looked up at Hunk with a grin.

"How do I look?"

"Good," said Hunk, nodding.

Lance, however, was pouting. "I wanted to put her hair up like Leia's but her hair's not long enough..." He gently whacked Pidge's shoulder with the brush. "Grow your hair out, Pidgeon!"

"I was actually thinking of cutting it," she said.

With a dramatic gasp, Lance fell back on the couch. "Nooooo!" he cried. Hunk and Pidge looked at each other, unable to hide their amusement.

Before any of them could do anything else, there was a knock at the door. Lance's eyes widened and he leapt to his feet, running from the room. Hunk smiled to himself, catching Pidge's eye. Pidge rolled her own and they both waited a few minutes before Lance returned with Keith in tow, both of them looking flushed. Keith was wearing his customary red jacket, zipped up due to the cold. A pair of tight black jeans seemed to be drawing Lance's attention till he remembered his mission to make Hunk's birthday memorable. Hunk was interested to see Keith carrying a plastic bag.

"Right, guys! Before we go anywhere... It's present time! Right, Keith?"

"Apparently," said Keith, dryly.

Pidge reached under the table and pulled out two parcels, one wrapped in yellow paper and the other in orange. Hunk grinned at them. "Aw, guys. You didn't need to," he told them. "I mean, you all got me Christmas presents. That's more than enough."

"Shut up and open them," Lance ordered, tugging Keith down onto the couch with him.

"Okay, okay," Hunk said as he sat down on one of their saggy armchairs.

Unwrapping the yellow one first, Hunk found himself with new cooking utensils and a fancy mixer. He stared at it in surprise. "That one's from me," Lance informed him. "Some of our stuff's getting a bit ratty and you've been complaining about that old mixer for what feels like years."

"Aw, dude!" Hunk exclaimed setting them aside so he could scramble to his feet. Lance laughed as he drew him up and into a bear hug. "Thanks, man!"

"Open mine, now," Pidge ordered.

Chuckling, Hunk let Lance go and sat down again, pulling the paper from the parcel effortlessly. "Did you even wrap this?" he teased, noticing the messy way it had been assembled.

"I was just gonna give it to you in a bag but Lance literally just made me wrap it." Pidge sent an annoyed frown to Lance. "He rushed me."

"We've got things to do!" Lance protested. "I couldn't let you hold things up!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Have you been pestering _everyone_?" asked Keith, incredulously.

"I just want to make Hunk's birthday fun," Lance told him, pouting a little. "I don't know why you guys aren't getting into the spirit of-" He was cut off as Keith hugged him around the waist.

"You don't need to get so worked up about it," he muttered. "Everything's fine, right, Hunk?"

"Totally," Hunk agreed. "Way better than I expected already and we haven't even gone bowling, yet."

A loving smile spread across Lance's face as he ducked his head down. He and Keith pressed their foreheads together and fell silent, their arms around each other. It was cute, spoiled only by the gagging noises that Pidge was making. While Lance was distracted, Hunk looked down at what Pidge had got him.

An alarm clock. Not just any alarm clock: a Rubik's Cube alarm clock. According to the box, in order to turn it off, you had to solve it. Hunk grinned. "Awesome!" he declared, glancing up at Pidge who grinned back.

"This way, you won't sleep through your alarm," Pidge told him. "Like today."

"I had to go into your room to make it shut up," Lance added, rolling his eyes at him.

"Sorry," said Hunk, rubbing the back of his sheepishly.

"I don't know why you're making such a fuss," Keith commented to Lance. "You sleep through _my_ alarm when you stay over."

"Yeah, 'cause you wake up before daylight and I cannot deal," Lance replied, sticking his nose in the air.

"It's called exercise."

"Which you can do any time of the-"

" _Okay_ ," said Pidge. "Are we gonna go or is Keith actually gonna give Hunk his present?"

"Oh," said Keith. "Right." He held out the plastic bag which Hunk took. "Lance gave me grief for not wrapping it."

"Aw, Keith!" Hunk cried, taking the bag. "You didn't need to. That's so sweet."

"I only bought it 'cause Lance couldn't affo-"

"Shush!" Lance interrupted him, elbowing him in the stomach.

Reaching into the bag, Hunk pulled out a packet within which was an action figure. He gaped at the yellow paint and moveable limbs and the little stand he could put it on. "Oh, my gosh!" he breathed. "The Amber Tabby!" Said character was his favourite from the Feline Squad, a cartoon about a group of people dressed as cats who fought crime. It sounded stupid but it was fun to watch and even Lance and Pidge liked it. The show was the one thing they could put on without one of them complaining or questioning everything. They each had their favourites and the three of them had been wanting to get the action figures for months now. He couldn't quite believe he now owned the Amber Tabby.

"I'm glad you like it," said Keith, a little bashfully.

"Are you kidding?!" exclaimed Hunk, leaping to his feet. "You guys are the best! These are all awesome!" And, despite protests, he drew them all into a group hug. "I love you guys!"

They gave him a moment before Lance started patting his arm and Pidge said, "You're gonna love us to death – let go!"

Once he'd let them go, Lance fished his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at the screen before pulling a dissatisfied face. "We better go – Shiro and Allura are wondering where we are."

"So are we going by bike?" asked Pidge, perking up.

"Nah, I brought Shiro's car," said Keith. "Lance is coming back to mine so he'll be bringing you guys home later."

"So grab your stuff, people!" Lance announced. "Time to bowl!"

* * *

Balmera Bowling was a relatively new venture in the town. As such, it was rather popular as curious people turned up to pass criticism. Thankfully, with Christmas and New Year having just passed, not many people were willing to spend money on a fun activity when they could laze around at home. Lance had been the one to point it out as a birthday venue: Hunk had been content to have a more relaxed birthday. However, once the idea had been planted, he'd been only too happy to participate – especially when Lance pulled out the 'other soulmate' card, as he had all their lives.

The building contained a dozen lanes, a diner, an arcade and a bar. Thankfully, despite it being Hunk's 21st, Lance hadn't insisted they try wheedling alcohol out of the bartenders for him and Pidge. However, Lance was eager to get a lane so they could grab some food and get settled in, practically dragging Keith behind him. As they entered to the sound of arcade games, Hunk noticed the fun Christmas decorations still draped from the ceiling. Colourful snowmen and Santas and elves and robins were connected in their chains, some of them half-fallen from where they had been pinned. Apart from that, the other decorations had been put away and Hunk had to wonder if they'd lost a ladder or something.

Shiro and Allura were waiting for them at the reception. "Hey, guys," said Shiro. "We've asked for a couple of lanes already. Just have to pay and then we can go."

"Wait, we gotta go the whole hog," protested Lance. He grabbed Hunk's arm and dragged him into view of the receptionist who raised an eyebrow. The man was just a little taller than Hunk and wore an unimpressed expression and a nametag which told the world his name was _Rax_. "Hey, my man," Lance said, leaning against the counter. He put on his 'flirty' smile which, when Hunk glanced at Keith to check, made his soulmate scowl. "Any birthday deals you can get for this big guy?"

"Only if you booked online," said Rax with a frown.

"Aw, c'mon," Lance began.

"And only for parties of ten or more."

"Really? I mean, we're most of the way there-"

"Do you want the lanes or not?"

Lance sighed heavily. "Fine. Whatever. How much?" He turned to Hunk and pointed at him. "And you put your wallet away. This is on us – right, guys?"

There was a murmuring of agreement from the rest of them. Hunk frowned. "Are you su-?"

"Yes," Lance interrupted him. "Yes, we are."

So Hunk moved back and watched them pool their money. He listened to the sound of the balls rolling down the lanes and the noise of the pins falling. Laughter reached him from a children's party at one end of the building, the kids leaping around and chattering as they waited for their turns. The smell of burgers and hot dogs and chicken wings floated to him; his stomach rumbled, reminding him of the lack of breakfast due to having slept in. He loved Lance, really, but the man should've gotten him up to make pancakes for the three of them, a least.

"Hey, Hunk!" said Pidge, prodding him in the side. Hunk leapt about a foot in the air and looked down at her.

"Huh?"

"Pay attention," Pidge said. "We're at lane six and seven."

"Oh, right."

Looking around, he noticed that the others were already on their way. Shiro had an arm around Allura's waist as she animatedly said something. From the determined expression he could just make out, she was probably telling him that she'd beat everyone else. Lance was practically skipping next to Keith, his smirk letting Hunk know that they were challenging each other to see who would win. Fondly, he shook his head at his friend's antics.

Hunk was happy for his friends. While Pidge revelled in being single and the only one who hadn't found a soulmate ( _There is a ninety-nine percent chance you are my soulmate – oh! Are you okay?_ ), the two couples with them were happy. Shiro and Allura had found each other a few years ago. Apparently, Shiro's had said, _What happened? I'm a doctor_ _._ Allura's arm had said, _I don't know – she just fainted_! Once they'd dealt with the situation at hand, they had allowed themselves to celebrate and had gone on several dates. Somehow, they had pretty much instantly clicked and been in love ever since. Shiro had even proposed to her, out of the blue, at Halloween. Hunk didn't think that anyone would ever forget seeing Superman propose to Glinda the Good Witch.

In direct contrast, Lance had met Keith when they'd gotten a flat tyre on their way back from a New Year's Eve party. They had changed the tyre but it was quickly followed by the battery being flat with no way to charge it. After calling the emergency number his mom had given him for just such an occasion, they had found that they had to call around until Pidge had called her brother who had told them that a friend of his knew a mechanic. That mechanic turned out to be Keith who had, apparently, not been doing much that night. While Lance had taken a call from his worried mom, Hunk and Pidge had greeted the mechanic and let him work. Just as he'd gotten the car to start, Lance had reappeared to find out what was happening. Keith had looked up, gone a little red and said, _That's, uh, that's it fixed_. To which, Lance had replied, _Well, no shit, Sherlock – do you think I'm_ blind?

It had definitely not been the best start to a soulmate relationship. But, after meeting several times (to Keith's dismay and Lance's despair), they had started to form a tentative friendship. Which, of course, quickly developed into the start of a romantic relationship. Keith had introduced Shiro and Allura who helped them out several times when there were misunderstandings and upsets.

Both of their stories were rather sweet, in their own ways, and Hunk found himself thinking of his own soulmate often these days. Who were they? When would he meet them? Hunk almost wished the marks came with timers so he would know how much longer it would be until he heard those words. Would it be an instant connection like Shiro and Allura's, their relationship slowly building to a crescendo? Or would it be the same rocky start that Lance and Keith had?

They reached the lanes and Hunk shook his head to push those thoughts aside for the moment. Only Pidge noticed and raised an eyebrow. He grinned sheepishly and shrugged in response. Pidge glanced at the two couples and back at him before rolling her eyes, obviously correctly guessing what he'd been thinking about.

Lance, of course, took charge. "Right," he said. "Me and Keith in one team, Shiro and Allura in the other. Hunk's with us and Pidge is with you guys. The winners get... uh..."

"Cake?" Keith suggested.

"Wait, hold up," said Pidge. "Don't you two want to be in different teams to play against each other?"

"Nah," said Lance. "I mean, we're gonna see who's the best – which'll be me, _obviously_ -"

"I doubt _that_ ," Keith interjected.

"But this way, we'll definitely be on the winning team," Lance finished with a determined look in Keith's direction.

"Who says you're going to win," Allura asked, smirking at them.

Hunk was suddenly pulled into a one-armed hug by Lance who grinned cheekily at the older couple. "We've got Hunk."

"Why do you get Hunk, anyway?" asked Pidge.

"'Cause he's my other soulmate, obviously."

"I thought I was your 'other soulmate', too."

"Well, yeah," Lance agreed. "But I can't have both of you _and_ Keith. That'd be unfair."

" _Anyway_ ," said Keith with a roll of his eyes. "We should probably make a start? They won't let us stay here forever."

"Ah, yeah!" Lance bounded over to the computer for lane 7 and began to tap at the screen.

"And Lance needs to get the food," Pidge added.

"What? Hey-!"

"If you're going for food," said Hunk, knowing that Lance wouldn't win this argument, "can you get me one of everything?"

"Urgh. Fine!" Lance threw his hands in the air before glancing at the computer. "You're gonna have to wait for my first shot, though," Lance told them with an apologetic shrug. "I was too quick for you." He stuck his tongue out at Pidge who crossed her eyes in return.

"Any excuse," muttered Keith. Lance turned to him with narrowed eyes and began to argue but Pidge tugged on Hunk's sleeve.

"It's your birthday, though. You should decide the teams."

"I'm cool with whatever, honestly," said Hunk with a warm smile. "I'm just glad we get to hang out here. Though," he added, raising his voice, "I am _very_ hungry."

"Ah!" said Lance, cutting off his own retort. He glanced up, his cheeks a little flushed and eyes sparkling with happiness. "I just need to add your names..." Turning to the computer, he began to type into it.

"Shouldn't we put in our own names?" said Hunk, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Lance finished with their lane and, as he hopped across to the other one, their names appeared on the screen above them. Hunk couldn't help but chuckle when he saw what he'd put: _Lancey-Lance_ , _Hot-rod_ , _Hunkilicious_.

"Oho!" said Pidge, grinning in Lance's direction despite him not looking. "And how do _you_ know Keith's a 'hot-rod'?"

"Pidge..." said Hunk, warningly. He glanced a Keith who stared at her with wide eyes and a red face. "Try not to kill Keith, please. Lance would complain."

"Lance would be very upset," Lance told them, frowning. But his cheeks were even more flushed now and he was avoiding looking at Keith which suggested to Hunk that their friend had heard exactly what Pidge had said.

"Wait, what is this?" asked Allura, staring up at the screen in amusement. The names there were _Shiro the Hero_ , _Dr. Alluring_ and _Gremlin_.

"Hey!" Pidge protested though her lips were curved upwards in amusement.

"All true," Lance told them. "Lemme just bowl my first one before I bother you for money and we can have... food!"

* * *

Having feasted on a lot of junk food (which Lance brought over using several large baskets to carry everything and the help of one of the workers), everyone got down to the business of knocking over skittles. Hunk was having a lot of fun, laughing with his friends. They had decided to play two games and the first one went to Shiro's team because Hunk picked up a ball which seemed to slip right off his fingers – and into the gutter. Lance couldn't talk, though, as he and Keith proceeded to distract each other in an attempt to win between themselves. To Lance's dismay, Keith won – by one point.

They had just started their second game when Keith bowled a strike. While Lance groaned, Keith turned back with a satisfied smile. Since Hunk was up next, he stood ready with a ball, watching the scooping mechanism come down in front of the pins. He stared at it as it stayed down, not moving. Then he stared some more. Eventually, he turned to his friends.

"Uh..."

"Damn, Keith," said Lance, noticing the problem. "Did you bowl so hard you broke the machine?"

"It's not _my_ fault," Keith protested.

"Sure it is," Lance teased him. "You were the last one to bowl."

"Should I go get someone...?" Hunk said to Pidge.

"Nah," she said, stepping over to the computer for lane 7. "We just need to... Huh."

"'Huh'? Huh, what?"

"The screen's gone blank."

"What's wrong?" said Allura, frowning over at them. "Your screen up there's gone blank, too."

"Have they ended your session?" Shiro suggested.

"We can call them from our computer," Pidge suggested.

"It'll be quicker if we go ourselves," Lance argued, abandoning his teasing of Keith.

"I'll go," said Hunk.

"You can't go," said Shiro with a cheerful smile. "We can't make the birthday boy go cajoling people into helping us on his birthday."

"Nah, I'll do it," Hunk insisted. "I feel bad for making you pay for everything after you got me presents, too!"

"But-" Lance began.

"Dude, it's not that big a deal," Hunk told him, smiling widely. "You've done loads of stuff for me today so let me do this, okay?"

Lance sighed. " _Fine_."

Hunk lifted his hand in a wave and wandered back down to the reception area. The noise of the alley and the other parts of the building seemed louder now. More people were in the lanes and there were kids running around the arcade. A younger child was crying, perhaps having lost out on the crane machine. Delicious smells and clinking came from the diner, overlaid with chatter. Someone was singing somewhere and popular music played, their videos displayed on various TVs.

As he approached the desk, he noticed that Rax had disappeared. In his place was a tall, young woman. He slowed as he got closer, his jaw dropping. The woman wore her brown hair in two buns, high on her head, strands falling to brush at her round cheeks. Necklaces dangled around her neck, shining just as much as her kind, blue eyes. She was serving a customer, her smile happy and content. Just like Rax, she wore that navy uniform, though hers was a v-neck.

His heart seemed to go into overdrive.

Unable to take his eyes off her, he soon found himself right in front of her. Remembering the nametag, Hunk forced himself to look at it to find out what her name was. _Shay_ , the badge declared. Hunk thought it was a perfect name. He looked back up to find her staring at _him_ with wide eyes, looking quite in awe of him. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. Just before she could speak, Hunk's brain reminded him of why he was there and prodded his mouth to work.

"Uh... I-I need you..."

'Shay' stared for a moment. Then she managed to say, just above a whisper, "You... You need me?"

There was silence between them. All they did was stare. Hunk couldn't help but think that Shay was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He wanted to do nothing more than watch her, all day, every day. Which, he slowly realised, was a rather creepy thing to do. Maybe it would be better to paint her – oh, if only he was any good with art, like Lance was!

A sudden idea occurred to him and he said, "Hunk."

Blinking in surprise, the receptionist's smile bloomed on her pretty face again. "Shay," she murmured.

They continued to stare for a moment before it occurred to Hunk that Shay had _said the words_. She had said his soulmate words! The very same ones printed on his skin in the very navy she was wearing. It had never crossed his mind that they would be meeting on his birthday. He hadn't worked out what to say! What was he supposed to do? How had Lance acted?

"You're my soulmate!" Hunk blurted.

"I'm your soulmate?" said Shay. Her face brightened even further, stealing Hunk's heart right there and then. "You're my soulmate!"

"We're soulmates," said Hunk, grinning dopily.

"You're... You're Hunk, my soulmate."

"And you're Shay. You're very beautiful." Hunk paused, realised what he had said and felt his cheeks heat up.

"Oh," said Shay, also blushing. "Thank you. You're extremely handsome."

"Oh," Hunk said, grinning again.

For a while, they only grinned and blushed, still unable to take their eyes off each other despite their embarrassment. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Hunk was vaguely aware of a queue forming behind him. He couldn't bring himself to care, though, and continued to gaze at his soulmate.

Eventually, they were interrupted. "Shay!" exclaimed a voice and both of them blinked. When they looked around, they found Rax angrily striding towards them. "What're you doing?! There are customers waiting!"

"He's my soulmate!" Shay called back in delight. Behind Hunk, he heard a few 'Oh!'s of realisation and a lot more 'Aww!'s.

"Your what?" said Rax in disbelief. His eyes were wide and he looked between them both in surprise.

"Soulmate," Hunk provided, still feeling dazed.

"What soulmate?" came a voice just behind him. Hunk turned to find Lance stepping up beside him. "What's going on?" his friend asked.

"Shay's my soulmate," he informed Lance, grinning in excitement.

Lance's eyes widened and he began to grin, too. "Aw, man, you mean I missed it?! This is so awesome, dude!"

"Look, as much as I'm happy for the two of you," said Rax, grimacing as he glanced behind Hunk, "we need to work, so... What did you come up here for?"

"Shay," Hunk replied, dreamily. Shay giggled, not taking her eyes from him.

Rax sighed. "You can meet up after Shay's finished her shift. Or on her break. But you both have to get your heads on straight – you can't just stand around here all day."

"They probably could, with the way they're staring," Lance interjected. "Look, the big man here came up to tell you that lane 7 is out of commission. In the middle of our game."

"Oh, damn," said Rax with a sigh. "Let me come up with you and we'll see if we can get that fixed. Again." He rolled his eyes, presumably at his bosses.

"I can go," Shay quickly said.

"You're gonna stay here," said Rax, jabbing a finger in her direction, "and do your job before you get fired." He paused and looked between them. "You both look like you need to sit down."

"Yeah," agreed Lance, snorting. "C'mon, Hunk. Let's find you somewhere to sit down." He tugged on Hunk's arm, gently guiding him away. Hunk stumbled after him, trying to keep his eyes on Shay. She gazed back, huge smile on her face, even as a customer stepped up to her and tried to catch her attention.

After what felt like forever, he found himself being pushed down onto a seat at the lane. Hunk blinked as the vision of Shay cleared from his eyes to see his friends looking down at him in concern while Rax fiddled with the computer behind them. "Is he okay?" he heard Pidge say.

"Yeah..." he breathed, unable to keep from grinning at her.

Lance laughed. "He's just met his soulmate. But they're the love-at-first-sight kinda soulmates and they couldn't stop staring at each other!"

"What, seriously?" asked Pidge, eyes wide.

"Her name's Shay," said Hunk, dreamily. "She's amazing..."

"Did you even talk to her?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We said our names."

"Hm," said Allura. "I would say he's in shock but I'm not sure if you can technically call it that."

"My sister's the same way," Rax piped up. He turned to Lance. "I've called for-"

"Wait!" exclaimed Hunk as his words hit him. "You're Shay's brother?!"

"Yeah," Rax replied, looking unimpressed. "You'd better treat her-"

"What's her favourite flower?" Hunk demanded. "No, her favourite colour? No, no, favourite food? Oh, man, I gotta cook her all her favourites. Then I gotta... I gotta-" Hunk broke off, running out of steam. He was thrumming with energy, unable to concentrate on any one thought at a time. They all kept coming back to _Shay_ and the desire to know _everything_ about her.

"Calm down, Hunk," said Shiro, gently. "I think you need to relax, maybe go to the bathroom and splash some water in your face."

"You don't need to rush," Lance added, smiling down at him. "You've got all the time in the world. So. Take a breath. Wait till your heart rate's gone down. And _then_ ask her on a date."

"To which she'll say yes," Pidge added before Hunk could panic about that. "If she's acting the same as you, she wants the same thing."

Hunk did as he was told and, after a while, once he'd calmed down and was aware that the game for lane 7 was back on, Hunk said, eyes wide as he looked at Lance, "Wow. This is the best birthday ever."


End file.
